1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a deodorant used for removing an odorous material which causes a malodor or the like, and particularly, to a deodorant having an azo metal complex as an active principle and capable of oxidizing the above described odorous material in air to remove the same simply and efficiently and a method of producing such a deodorant.
2. Description of the Prior Art
An odorous material which causes a malodor or the like is generally harmful in environmental sanitation, and is liable to injure human health. Accordingly, attempts to remove such an odorous material have been conventionally made. Particularly in recent years improvement of the comfortable environment has been desired, so that it has been strongly desired to fully remove the above described odorous material.
In removing the odorous material which causes a malodor or the like, various methods have been conventionally used. Examples of the methods generally used include a method of masking the odor of the odorous material using a perfume or the like by the odor of the perfume or the like and canceling the odors to destroy the odor of the odorous material, a method of diffusing the odorous material outward by ventilation to remove the same, a method of adsorbing the odorous material on a porous material such as activated carbon or zeolite to remove the same, a method of neutralizing the odorous material by acids or alkalies, a method of oxidizing or reducing the odorous material by an oxidizing agent or a reducing agent, and a method of biochemically treating the odorous material by microbes or the like.
In the method of destroying the odor of the odorous material using a perfume or the like, however, the odorous material itself still exists. Accordingly, a problem in environmental sanitation caused by the odorous material remains. In addition, other problems are encountered. For example, another malodor is emitted when the odorous material and the perfume are mixed with each other.
In the method of removing the odorous material by ventilation, the odorous material is diffused outward. Accordingly, such a method cannot be used in a closed space. In addition, the odorous material is discharged outward. Consequently, some problems are encountered. For example, the external environment is harmed, to cause secondary contamination.
In the method of adsorbing the odorous material on a porous material such as activated carbon to remove the same, the amount of the odorous material which can be adsorbed on the porous material is limited, thereby to make it impossible to stably remove the odorous material for a long time and makes it difficult to reproduce and use the porous material on which the odorous material is adsorbed, resulting in high cost.
In the method of neutralizing the odorous material using acids or alkalies, suitable acids or alkalies corresponding to the odorous material must be selected and used, so that the operation is laborious, and problems exist in safety and cost.
In the method of biochemically treating the odorous material using microbes, the speed at which the odorous material is treated is generally very high, so that it takes long and it cost much for deodorizing.
Therefore, in recent years a deodorant using metal phthalocyanine or a metal complex obtained by coordinating a Schiff base to a metal has been developed, as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Gazette Nos. 111054/1991 and 20852/1989.
In the above described deodorant, the oxidation-reduction reaction in the above described metal complex is utilized, and the metal complex is used as a catalyst to oxidize the odorous material to change the same into an odorless material as the oxidized state of a central metal in the metal complex is changed.
In the case of the deodorant using metal phthalocyanine, however, if metal phthalocyanine is used without any change as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Gazette No. 111054/1991, the reaction speed at which the odorous material is oxidized to be changed into an odorless material is low, thereby to make it impossible to obtain a sufficient deodorizing effect.
In Japanese Patent Laid-Open Gazette No. 111054/1991, therefore, metal phthalocyanine is used in the state of an aqueous solution together with silicon or the like in order to obtain a sufficient deodorizing effect using metal phthalocyanine. If metal phthalocyanine is used in the state of an aqueous solution, however, the place where it is used, the way it is used, and the like are limited.
Furthermore, in the case of the deodorant utilizing a metal complex obtained by coordinating a Schiff base to a metal disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Gazette No. 20852/1989, a certain degree of deodorizing effect is obtained even if the metal complex is not used in the state of an aqueous solution, unlike the above described case of metal phthalocyanine. However, the effect is not still sufficient.